keepin it real : Day Four : Rebecca

She emailed me one day out of the blue. 
Asked me to join her in San Miguel, Mexico for her next tour. 
My heart stopped. I could not believe what I was reading. 
SHE invited ME personally to join her. 
Of course my first reaction was no way. 
She is Big Pond. I am Small Fish. 
How can I afford this? How can I do this?
I am simply a follower and commenter on her blog.  

Meri was going. So was Stephanie. 

Holy crap. These are important women who are writers, artists, photographers, bloggers whom I stalk...admire...respect. 
How can I spend 10 days keepin real with these women?

well....HELL YES. I will do this. 
And I did. We became fast and furious friends. 
It was so easy.

and I went back...again 

and I will return to her fold. 

I love her so.

keepin it real : Part Three : Ashley

Ashley lives in Austin, Texas. I moved away to Florida, but was traveling back to work in Round Top and sell my house. She insisted we meet up ! My heart skipped a beat. She is young and beautiful and a very talented photographer. We like to shoot nude selfies. We met on Instagram. We show up for each other with kind comments and sweet support.

We met at my empty home with cameras and sweaty palms!! We squealed and jumped into each others arms. We immediately shed our layers of clothing and like a couple of free kids, ran around the house creating scenes for photos of each other. The creative juices and vibrant energy was intoxicating. The following photos are results of that magical afternoon...edits by Ashley.

Fast forward two years later, October 2014. I am working in Texas again. Text from Ashley..."Meet me in 3 hours in Giddings for the 10th Annual World Wide InstaMeet" 

Of course I dropped everything, drove 30 minutes into her arms again !! We joined a group of photographers from Austin, Houston & San Antonio and romped the streets, vacant buildings and alleyways of this tiny Texas town. I was kinda the oldest gal there of about 100 groovy hipsters ! We had a blast! I learned so much from the young eyes of creative photographers. And of course Ashley and I went our own way looking for nooks and crannies and stairways .. but once others saw her poses and beautiful aura, they followed her along. The following photos are mine...of her...Sweet beautiful Ashley. 

Till we meet again, my friend...

keepin it real : Part Two : Kim, Debi, Beth, Laurie

"we were all strangers. blogging friends. with big curious hearts. 

i asked if they wanted to visit. 

they said yes."

~Beth McWilliams~

We gathered on the shores of Seaside, Florida. January 2011 

from Texas, Wisconsin and New Hampshire

Debi, Kim, Beth, myself and Laurie

 Beth was our hostess with the mostest ( and Big Ass Lens )

photo by Beth

photo by Beth

"we shared and laughed. we cried and created.

we listened and learned"

~Beth~

"It was a collision of creative energies, bundles of nerves,

armfuls of hugs, freedoms to cry 

and space to just be"

~Deb Taylor ~

photo by Beth

"was it always easy? no. 

five women. enough said. 

{it takes real women to admit, know and understand that}"

~Beth~

read more here, here , here and here

as each of us share our memories from different perspectives

keepin it real : Part One : Bella

Do you have online friendships? Of course you do. That's probably why you showed up here today. Do you get on a plane or drive a car to meet this friend in real time? Have you experienced the magic of a meet-up ? Possibly with someone you shared your deep, dark secrets with behind the safety of a computer screen. Maybe you participated in an online workshop and exposed your vulnerable soul. Maybe you follow each other in Instagram or stalk each other on Facebook. Social media options have opened up our possibilities to create whatever identity we want to. We blog about whatever we want our readers and followers to know about us. We strive to be transparent, real and authentic with our photographs and writings. Yet the opportunity to face each other in real time will certainly cause you to pause. You might ask yourself " Am I really the person I represent?...Will this person like my online personality better than that afternoon we spent frolicking in the woods, dancing on the beach,  sipping in coffee shops, eating dinner, drinking wine and photographing each other?" 

Fuck YES !! 

Every real time experience I've had with online realtionships do not disappoint. In fact, they run deeper, clearer. I can remember the way she smells. I hear her laughter. I held her when she broke down and cried. we exchanged handmade gifts.  I recall that moment of wild abandon when I asked permission to take a photo...or one hundred !! 

We are all artists. We are all hungry to connect. We find each other via photography, art journaling, or writing poetry. We reach out to those who resonate and vibrate with our own creative vibes. 

I highly recommend doing this. Bella and I are two of three. We collaborate our stories with self portraits. Our brief encounter in New York was an elixir for my friendship connection with her. 

photos are taken with Bella's camera, tripod and remote.

Editing by me !

Deb went to New York

Clearly I have neglected my little blog space here lately..well here are a few reasons why...I visited New York State for my first time ever !! 

Thank you Phil & Justine for the memories...and a trip 

we will always cherish...as we do your friendship !! 

Fresh

I baked a Fresh Pineapple Pie today...

what did you do ?

{ yes it was so delicious }